Izard County to host annual All-Star Classic

Izard County High School will host its sixth annual North Arkansas All-Star Basketball Classic on April 14 at the Cougar Den in Brockwell to showcase the outstanding graduating high school senior basketball players in the north Arkansas area.

The girls game will begin at 6 p.m. and the boys game will be at 8 p.m. KSAR will broadcast the event, and player interviews will begin at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 per person.

There will also be the finals of the dunk contest and the 3-point shooting contest between games by the players. The preliminary contests will be held before the games.

“We have finalized the rosters for the sixth annual North Arkansas All-Star Basketball Classic, and it will definitely be one of the best in our history,” event coordinator Tim Massey said. “Nine all-state players and six all-state tournament players, including the 1A State boys MVP, have committed to play in the NABC, including many who have or will commit to playing next year at the next level.”

Also, four of the area’s best coaches have been selected to coach in the games, including Dion Hargrove of Perryville and Shane Davis of West Side Greer’s Ferry for the boys game and Christi Rolland of Pangburn and Kodi Speers of Perryville for the girls game.

Hargrove guided Perryville to the state quarterfinals this year and won the Class 1A boys’ state championship at Viola in 2002. Davis has amassed 132 wins at West Side in six years and has earned one state tournament berth. Rolland has won 437 games in her career and took Pangburn to the semifinals in 2017 as well as a 30-6 mark this season. Speers has taken Perryville to one state tournament appearance in her two years at the school.

“We are excited to have coaches of this caliber for this event, and we love to bring in players and coaches from throughout north Arkansas to help showcase the talent level in the area,” Massey said. “This is going to be a must-see event for all basketball fans of this area. We will play five (periods) to make sure all players get an ample amount of playing time. The slam dunk contest and the 3-point contest will be very entertaining as well. We have great players and great coaches and we want to give area seniors the opportunity to perform before fans of their home area one last time before they move on to college.”

The following all-state and all-state tournament players have committed to the Classic: